Gravel-washing apparatus.



L. E. DIERKS & H. B. SAUERMAN.

' GRAVEL WASHING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED IIA'Y 15, I915.

Patented Dec. 21, 1915.

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,L. E. DIERKS & H. B. SAUERMAN.

GRAVEL WASHINGAPPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED MAYIS, 1915.

Patented Dec. 21, 1915.

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jaw/ls L.'E. mgfiks & H. B. SAUERMAN.

GRAVEL WASHING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 15, I915.

Patented Dec. 21, 1915.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

' LOUIS E. ninnxs AND HENRY 1B. SAUERMAN, or CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

GBAVEL-WASHING APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 21, 1915.

Application filed May 15, 1915. Serial No. 28,354.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, LoUIs E. Dialogs and HENRY B. SAUERMAN, citizens of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Gravel-\Vashing Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

Our objects are to provide a novel, simple and highly effective form of apparatus for washing gravel to remove therefrom clay or other character of soil with which it is mixed in nature; to provide for eflicient washing of the gravel in a highly economical manner; to provide for the separating .of the particles of the gravel according to their sizes and discharging the particles of different sizesinto separate receptacles, or otherwise segregating them; and other objects as will be manifest from the following description.

Referring to the accompanying drawings; Figure 1 is a view in vertical sectional elevationof a gravel-washing apparatus constructed in accordance with; our invention, the conduits leading from the various screening devices, employed for conducting away, from the screening. devices in segregated condition, the different sized particles of gravel, being shown as coiiperating with bins, the upper portions only of which are shown; Fig. 2 is an enlarged broken section taken at a right angle to the view in Fig.

1 through the hopper and the screening devices and illustrating the washing troughs in end elevation, this section being taken at the line 2 on Fig. 4 and viewed in the direction of the arrow; Fig. 3 is a view in vertical sectional elevation taken at line 3 on Fig. 1 and viewed in the direction of the arrow, this section being taken at a right angle to the section in Fig. 1; and Fig. 4 is a broken enlarged section taken at the line 4 on Fig. 3 and viewed in the direction of the arrow.

The hopper for receiving the-gravel to be Washed and supported upon a framework 5, is represented at 6, the upper end of this hopper being provided with grizzly bars 7, in accordance with common practice, and upon which the gravel to be washed is dumped. The hopper 6, by preference, inclines from opposite sides toward its center, as illustrated in the drawings, at which point its outlet 8 is located, the outlet 8 being provided with a slide-valve mounted in guides 10 located at opposite sides of the outlet 8,

and adapted to be moved back and forth to vary the area of the outlet from the hopper, by means of a pinion-11 meshing with a rack 12 on the underside of the plate 9, the pinion 11 being fixed on a shaft 13 journaled in'the beams 14 of'the framework 5,

and provided with a hand Wheel 15 for rotating the shaft.

Located directly below the outlet 8 is a device wherein the gravel is Washed. In the preferred construction illustrated this device comprises two troughs 16 arranged side by side in substantially horizontal position and each of substantially semi-circular shape in cross-section, as clearly represented in Fig. 2, the adjacent meeting edges of these troughs, which are preferably so disposed as toextend in a plane substantially midway between opposed sides of the hopper at the outlet 8, being secured together as by rivets 17. One end of the troughs 16 (the right-hand end in Fig." 1) is closed by a plate 18 shown as forming a continuation of one of the sides of the hopper-outlet, the troughs at' the other end being preferably open and opposed, but spaced from, a deflector plate 19 supported from a portion of the framework 5, the plate 19 being either solid or perforated, as desired.

A large portion of the washing operation is performed in the troughs 16 by introducing water into the apparatus at such points as to agitate the gravel in the troughs. This we prefer to accomplish by disposing the water supply pipes as shown in the drawings, wherein the feed-pipe represented at 20 and provided with a hand-valve 21 extends through the side of the hopper 6 and discharges downwardly into the troughs 16 through a head having branches 22. The branches 22 are so arranged relative to the troughs 16 that water-supplied to the pipe 20 will be directed into these troughs adjacent to their inner edges, as clearly rep-' resented in Fig. 2. This will cause the water supplied to the troughs to wash down one side with a tendency to wash up the opgradually works itself out at the left-hand end of the troughs in Fig. 4, the deflector 19 confining the gravel and causing it to drop, substantially 1)erpendicularly, closely adjacent to the troughs where it drops upon the separator or screeningdevice hereinafter referred to.

.-\s the intermixture of water and gravel flows from the troughs, a fresh supply of gravel is being constantly fed to the troughs from the hopper through the outlet 9, and to insure the proper automatic feeding of the gravel into the troughs, the hopper 6 is preferably provided at intervals with a series of pipes 23 connected with a pipe 24 tapered on to the pipe 20, whereby water is introduced into the gravel in the hopper at different points, reducing the gravel to a condition in which it flows freely through the outlet 9.

Coiiperating with the washing device formed of the troughs 16 are screening devices hereinbefore referred to and represented in the drawings as located below these troughs. Under ordinary conditions, it would be desirable to provide three screening devices having graduated openings wherby gravel running over them would be screened into four different sizes, and we havev therefore shown three screening devices for this purpose, though not with any intention of limiting our invention thereby. These screening devices are represented at 25, 26 and 27. Each of these screening devices is formed of an inclined plate, inclining downwardly from the closed end of the troughs 16, the perforations in these screens being graduated as desired, the screen 25 containing coarse perforations, the screen 26 perforations of a smaller size than the screen 25, and the screen 27 containing erforations smaller than the screen 26-. %xtending below and transversely of the screens 25 and 26 are baflies 28, which are preferably perforated and incline down wardly from the left to the right in Fig. 4, in a direction opposite to that in which the screens extend.

The gravel mixed with water in discharging from the troughs 16 falls upon the screen 25, and in moving down the screen the coarsest particles of the gravel run down the screen 25 into a chute 29 which directs these particles into a bin 30. Those of the particles which pass through the perforations in the screen 25 drop upon the baflies 28 immediately below this screen which serve the dual function of dislodging clay, or other soil, which still remains on the particles of gravel, and deflects the particles to the right in Fig. 4, where they drop upon the screen 26. Those of the particles which are too large to pass through the screen 26 discharge from the end of the latter into a chute 31 which empties into a bin 32. The

particles of gravel which pass through the screen 26 discharge upon the baffles 28 immediately below the latter and are again deflected backwardly to the right in Fig. 4 where they fall upon the screen 27. Those of the particles which do not pass through the screen 27 discharge into a chute 33 which empties into a pivoted settling chamber 34 located in a bin 35 and cooperating with a valve 36, these parts being so arranged, in accordance with common practice, that when the chamber 34 becomes filled with water and gravel up to a certain point it will automatically tilt and open the valve 36, thereby permitting a portion of the contents of the chamber 34 to discharge into the bin 35. The particles of gravel and the water which pass through the screen 27 fall upon a deflector 37 which communicates with a chute 38 which discharges into a settling chamber 39 of the construction de-' scribed of the settling chamber 34, and discharging into a bin40.

It may be desirable under some conditions that water be supplied to the material during its movement along the screens to effect further washing thereof, and to-this end we provide, to' extend above the screens, pipes 41, 42 and 43, respectively, equipped with hand-valves 44 and supplied with water from a pipe 45 which is tapped on to the pipe 20, the pipes 41, 42 and 43 being perforated, with the perforations, by preference and represented at 46, provided in opposite sides thereof, to cause the water 'to discharge therefrom at opposite sides ina substantially horizontal direction.

The construction of thetroughs as stated serves to discharge the gravel upon the up permost screen in a relatively wide, thin stream with the manifest advantages.

It will be readily understood by those skilled in the art that a washing apparatus constructed in accordance with our invention not only operates to quickly and eifectually wash and classify gravel, but the apparatus may be provided in very compact form.

While we have illustrated and described a particular embodiment of our invention, we do not wish to be understood as-intending to limit it thereto, as the same may be variously modified and altered without departing from the spirit of our invention.

\Vhat we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In apparatus of the character set forth, the combination of a trough having a curved bottom, means for feeding gravel, to be washed, into said trough, and means for introducing a downwardly directed stream of water into said trough at one side thereof, under sufficient pressure to force the gravel upwardly against the opposite side of the trough to a position in which it drops back onto the body of gravel and advances the gravel to the discharge end of the trough.

Q. In apparatus of the character set forth, the combination of a trough having a curved bottom with one end open, means for feeding gravel, to be washed, into said trough, and means for introducin a downwardly directed stream of water lnto said trough at one side thereof, under suflicient pressure to force the gravel upwardly against the opposite side of the trough to a position in which it drops back onto the body of gravel and advances the gravel ,to the discharge the combination of a trough having an openend, the bottom of said trough being curved,

a baflle located opposite the open end of said trough and spaced therefrom, means for feeding gravel, to be Washed, into said trough, and means for introducing a downwardly directed stream of Water into said trough at one side thereof, under sufiicient LOUIS E. DIERKS. HENRY B. SAUERMAN.

In presence of O. C. AVISUS, A. C. FISCHER. 

